Time is running out!

A new Arctic oil rush has begun. Reckless companies like Shell, Gazprom, Statoil, and Exxon want to invade the fragile Arctic, risking a devastating oil spill for only three years worth of oil.

The Arctic is home to incredible wildlife, from majestic polar bears to blubbery walruses and mysterious narwhals. But all Arctic species depend on sea ice to survive, and the ice is vanishing with terrifying speed. Amid global climate change it’s warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. In the last 30 years 75% of the summer sea ice volume has disappeared.

Protecting the Arctic means protecting us all.

Act now to stop an oil spill in the Arctic before it starts and to protect the Arctic ecosystem before it’s too late!

The Rroma Information Center (RIC) e.V. was founded in August 2011 and provides a platform for Rroma activists to raise their voices and show the variety of perspectives on topics like politics, education, art and culture and contribute to the (self-)reflection of society.

To this date, the concerns of Rroma people are primarily represented out of non-Rroma perspective which is why keywords linked to Rroma people, such as "not integrated", "uneducated" and "unprofessional", are dominant in society and become self-fulfilling prophecies. The Rroma Information Center wants to oppose an independent and emancipated team of activists providing a quality information-platform and a safe space for Rroma people.

Currently the RIC staff mostly works with donated old furniture and computers. The devices often behave faultily, the furniture doesn't really fulfill the needs of daily working routine. Unfortunately an application for financial support has been rejected recently. The RIC decided therefor to start a crowdfunding campaign to purchase the urgently needed material.

Help the RIC to furnish their work space and pledge for a more efficient Rroma Information Center!

Credits: "The Beauties of Auschwitz" by Ceja Stojkas, artist of Rroma descent

Photo: Diego Castellano

The Confederate Flag still flies out of homes and cars, even on public squares and next to governmental monuments in the South of the United States. One can ask why, since the red flag with its cross out of blue "bars and stars" is a clear historical symbol for century-long racially motivated violence and hate. Hate against anyone who is not white, christian and heterosexual. Hate against the majority of this world basically, but especially against black people in the United States.

This flag represents the Confederate States of America during the US-American Civil War when the South was vehemently fighting to keep slavery as a means to maintain and enhance economic prosperity for white plantation owners. The Civil War was ended in 1865, slavery of black people was abandoned, the era of the Confederate Staes of America over.

All people still flying, waving, posting, printing and distributing the Confederate Flag or claiming that it's simply a symbol of "Southern pride and heritage" may reconsider what this heritage actually means. This is the 21st century, your President is black, wake up and get rid off those symbols of hate!

Sign the petition adressed to the South Carolina State House, The South Carolina State Senate, and Governor Nikki Haley to remove the Confederate Flag from all governmental places.

100 elephants a day are dying - shot sometimes from helicopters, their faces cut off by machetes often while still alive - just to produce ivory trinkets. What's worse is that this savagery is managed by organised criminals who help fund some of the most dangerous terror groups in the world.

Killing elephants is serious business - as wild elephants die out, the price for stockpiles of ivory skyrockets. Now poachers are on a race to kill as many elephants as they can. The clock is against us and if the current rate of killing continues, in little more than a decade, there may be no wild elephants, only graves.

But now there’s reason to hope: China just announced it will phase out its ivory industry and there is legislation in eleven US states calling for a ban on ivory trading. It’s a tipping point moment in this fight for these majestic animals and we can make sure demand everywhere dries up by funding a flood of campaigns in the US, Thailand and Vietnam to kill the biggest ivory markets anywhere.

Pledge an amount for the avaaz-Team to fund their species-saving work and save our elephants!

BOROUME, which means “we can” in Greek, is a non-profit organization committed to reducing food waste and the distribution of surplus food for charity throughout Greece. Since its beginning in 2011 more than 2 million meals of surplus food have been donated to welfare organizations.

BOROUME is a communication hub between food donors and welfare organizations (welfare institutions, soup-kitchens, municipal social services) that creates “bridges” between those who have surplus food and wish to donate it and those who need it.

In the three years of its operation, BOROUME has created thousands of such “bridges”, often of permanent nature, and today offers on average more than 3.000 portions of food per day through its network.

Through its innovative model of utilizing food that otherwise would end in the garbage, its educational program and its awareness campaigns, BOROUME aims at creating a social movement against food waste.

Support this project by volunteering, donation of money or simply food!

Troops under al-Bashir’s command in Darfur have spent years attacking and destroying villages, chasing survivors into the dessert, surrounding refugee camps, killing almost 500,000 and uprooting millions of civilians from land they occupied for centuries. When applying for a warrant for his arrest, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said clearly that al-Bashir’s “intent was genocide” and that he wanted to erase the history of an entire people.

The ICC is still young and because of political maneuvers, al-Bashir has avoided arrest in several countries over the years. Some -- including the ANC -- have criticized the court for focusing on crimes in Africa. But most of the cases at the ICC were brought forward by the countries themselves and Sudan is one of just two cases where the Security Council managed to agree to bring perpetrators to the court. And when it comes to crimes as horrific as those in Darfur, its justice that should matter, not politics.

The law is clear -- South Africa is a member of the ICC and is required to cooperate with the arrest warrant. The ANC already tried to give al-Bashir immunity and political pressure could lead the court to give in, but a massive global outcry could create a media wave strong enough to keep politics out. Click now to show the South African government that the world expects justice:

For international law to work, there can’t be loopholes for international criminals. For there to be justice, our governments must put aside politics and act in the interests of humanity.

Join the petition and help ensure that Darfur’s victims finally get the justice they deserve.

In spring 2013 the founders of "Teachers on the Road" started a tour through more than 50 refugee shelters throughout Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. On this tour they encountered numerous defiancies: Fully overcrowded and and down-and-out camps, lack of medical care, no access to the Internet and often no way for the refugees to learn German. This means total isolation for people.

When they asked the refugees about their concerns the most frequently expressed desire was to learn German as soon as possible.This is how Teachers on the road came to life. The aim is to break the isolation under which most refugees have to suffer and to allow them more social participation by learning the local language.

The project is now running for 2 years. In Frankfurt, Oberursel, Mainz, Darmstadt and Ludiwgshafen groups of voluntary teachers offer free lessons in German language 2-5 times per week for refugees. Since the start of the project a total of about 250 teachers teach refugees in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate.

In order to expand the project to other regions of Germany and to carry out initiative events, "Teachers on the road" is dependent on donations. Also for the purchase of German books and to cover travel costs and printing costs for their self-created teaching materials, they are in need of funds. The project is constantly in need of people who would like to teach refugees in German or to assist them with administrative formalities or finding accommodation.

Support this important and meaningful project by donating or- if you are living in one of the German regions mentioned above- take action and become a teacher on the road!

Governments are snooping on everything we do online. State intelligence and security agencies are using mass surveillance to hoover up our private emails, calls, internet searches, contact lists, phone locations, webcam images and more.

In particular, the intelligence services of the five English-speaking countries Australia, Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States ("Five Eyes" -Alliance) are hoarding and organizing informations for decades, including information obtained through mass surveillance.

The UN Human Rights stated in a resolution of 5 July 2012 that "the same rights that people have offline, also need to be protected online". Monitoring shall only take place if there is an actual suspicion and surveillance becomes necessary, proportionate and arranged judicially.

Everyone can be affected by mass surveillance today ....Get active! Sign the petition and ask the governmets of the "Five Eyes" to stop their programs for mass surveillance!

The Artist Protection Fund (APF) is a three-year pilot program at the Institute of International Education. With funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, APF will make life-saving fellowship grants to threatened artists from any field of artistic endeavor, and place them at host universities and arts centers in safe countries where they can continue their work.

The Institute welcomes expressions of interest from arts organizations around the world interested in hosting threatened artists. Hosts can be traditional university art education programs and arts residencies, as well as arts centers, performing arts organizations and less traditional artistic communities. Hosts will be requested to match the fellowship support, through contributions that may include housing, studio space, art supplies, and other support from their networks.

The Institute welcomes inquiries from threatened artists directly or from individuals or institutions nominating threatened artists for support. APF is for artists who are facing or have recently fled from immediate, severe, and targeted threats to their lives and/or careers in their home countries or countries of residence. Information on how to apply will be available in the autumn of 2015.

A recent decision by the Obama administration put Shell a step closer to drilling in the icy waters of the Alaskan Arctic. Amongst the growing industry and investor scepticism about the safety and value of offshore Arctic oil exploration, Shell is desperate to drill in the Arctic to increase its profits.

The US government’s own analysis estimates that there’s a 75% chance of a large oil spill if Shell is able to successfully extract oil from the Arctic. And industry experts say this would be virtually impossible to clean up.This is Shell’s vision of the future. The one they’re struggling to hide.

The good news is that the global movement to protect the Arctic and our climate is growing stronger by the day. And you can be a part of this movement.

Watch and share this film with your friends and family to make sure Shell doesn’t get away with it. Sign the petition and help Save the Arctic!